NEW MEXICO: GOP Bill Would Charge Rape Victims Who Get An Abortion

New Mexico state GOP Rep. Cathrynn Brown has introduced a bill that would charge the victims of rape with a felony for "tampering with evidence" if they get an abortion should their rape result in pregnancy.

“Tampering with evidence shall include procuring or facilitating an abortion, or compelling or coercing another to obtain an abortion, of a fetus that is the result of criminal sexual penetration or incest with the intent to destroy evidence of the crime," the bill says. Third-degree felonies in New Mexico carry a sentence of up to three years in prison. Pat Davis of ProgressNow New Mexico, a progressive nonprofit opposing the bill, called it "blatantly unconstitutional" on Thursday. “The bill turns victims of rape and incest into felons and forces them to become incubators of evidence for the state,” he said. “According to Republican philosophy, victims who are ‘legitimately raped’ will now have to carry the fetus to term in order to prove their case.“

The bill is expected to fail as both New Mexico chambers have Democratic majorities.